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APRIL 1, 2025
7
The Tribe failed to prove its case
TRIAL continued
from front page
through his work and was unaware
of his effort to correct the proofs.
Michael Cherry was not cited in
the incident.
In September, she lost her reelec-
tion bid. The Cherrys said at the
time, they believed the complaint
and social media allegations were
tactics to undermine her campaign.
According to evidence presented
at trial, Cherry had spent “less than
six minutes” working out the issue
before discarding the proof. The
fl yers and banners actually used
in the campaign were printed by
professional vendors, with receipts
presented in evidence.
Shortly after he did that work,
however, allegations surfaced on
an anonymously run Facebook page
that Cherry had used the computers
at the casino to print out his wife’s
campaign materials, followed by an
anonymous complaint to the Tribal
police, who followed up with an
investigation and later a citation.
The police report didn’t specify if it
was a casino or Tribal employee who
initially reported the matter, but it
was later stated at a Wednesday,
Aug. 21, Tribal Council meeting that
a Tribal Council member had been
the one to initially contact police.
The Tribe accused Cherry of
having violated the ordinance by
soliciting and distributing cam-
paign materials. Prosecutor and
Tribal Senior Staff Attorney Brooks
Wakeland argued that Cherry
should not have used a vendor that
he knew of because of his market-
ing job with the casino, saying that
was a use of Tribal resources. Cher-
ry testifi ed that it would have been
“almost impossible” to try to fi nd a
vendor he had not become familiar
with through his job.
Wakeland also argued that it
didn’t matter how little time Cherry
had spent on the project.
Tribal Police Cpl. Tokata Tehama
testifi ed for the prosecution.
Tehama testifi ed that a manager
for the casino, who did not testify
or attend the trial, had provided
him with a copy of a file Cherry
had deleted from his computer, and
a video showing Cherry’s desktop
and the actions Cherry had taken
in sending his proof to the printer
three times. The fi le, Tehama said,
“contained campaign signs he had
designed going back to 2020.”
Tehama said he believed that
Cherry’s actions constituted both
solicitation and distribution, telling
Brattain that he meant “reaching
Scheduled Appointments Only
Walk-In Day
Monday
Thursday
out to One Day Signs and working
on, designing and editing on work
time.” Further, Tehama said, “If I
print something, I’m going to use
it. I can’t think of something I’d
print and just toss.” He agreed,
however, that other people might
act differently.
Cherry said all design and editing
work was done on his home com-
puter, and that his communications
with the vendors were done using
his personal email.
“I would never have thought that
reaching out to a vendor would be
any kind of solicitation,” Cherry
testifi ed.
Brattain quizzed Tehama on
the meaning of the words “solicit”
and “distribute,” and called Tribal
Police Chief Jake McKnight to
the stand to testify that he had
approved the citation, and had not
provided training to his offi cers on
the meaning of the words “solicit”
and “distribute.”
Wakeland conceded that Cherry
had not distributed the proof he
had printed. However, he told Me-
lendy, Cherry “did troubleshoot, he
did reach out to solicit through a
resource developed through work.
… he used Tribal resources – a
vendor – and Tribal materials – a
computer.” However, he failed to
convince Melendy.
“I just can’t get there,” Melendy
said. Cherry’s actions “may have
been a substantial step,” he said,
but the Tribe had failed to prove
its case.
Cherry said he felt vindicated
and hopes that his case will pre-
vent others from enduring similar
treatment.
“The entire ordeal – starting
with an anonymous online smear
campaign, immediately followed
by a police investigation, a rushed
employment decision and a public
announcement by Tribal Council
before I had even been formally
notifi ed – has been an alarming ex-
ample of political interference and
overreach,” Cherry said. “I was held
to a different standard than others,
and after 28 years of dedicated ser-
vice to the Tribe and casino, it has
been incredibly disheartening to
see my reputation dragged through
the mud over an issue that was
exaggerated for political purposes.”
However, he noted that the ruling
had given him “renewed hope,” in
the justice system and “deep re-
spect” for the Tribal Court.
“I hope that moving forward, oth-
ers will be treated more fairly and
that, as a community, we can set
aside political divisions and focus
on our shared values of respect,
fairness and the well-being of our
co-workers, friends and neighbors,”
Cherry said. “As a lifelong com-
munity member with many Tribal
family members and friends, my
prayer is for the continued success
of the casino and the Tribe in all its
endeavors.”
If the Tribe decides to appeal the
ruling, the case will go to the Tribal
Appeals Court. n
Tuesday
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Ad by Samuel Briggs III